In Between the Raindrops
by plainmnmemy
Summary: Sequel to 'I Miss You' as a request. Skye's got some questions.
1. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark

AN: This was a request from **Serenity Shadowstar. **It was inspired by my 'I Miss You' and she wanted this to be a sequel of sorts. She pretty much came up with the entire base plot; I just put it on the fluff train and ran away with it! muahahahahahaha

Takes place towards the end of the season before Coulson and crew go and confront Garrett.

I do not own any of the marvel characters nor do I own the song 'My Songs Know What you Did In The Dark', written by Patrick Stump and performed by Fall Out Boy whose music video I've linked for your enjoyment while you read this fic =)

watch?v=LkIWmsP3c_s

* * *

She had to take a shower. She _absolutely _had to. She felt dirty from the past 10 hours of her life and she wasn't sure soap and a loofa would ever take that feeling away.

_**Be careful making wishes in the dark, dark**_

She had been so happy. She was with Ward, there was kissing and some hugging, and it was _amazing_.

Then she had to go and find the dead body he had stashed in the damn closet and it all went to hell from there. No matter how loud her heart screamed at her that something had to be wrong, she shut it down and focused on flipping the tables around on Grant.

_**Can't be sure when they've hit their mark**_

Her plan almost failed until Mike Peterson intervened and she found herself back at square one handcuffed on the bus.

That's not what made her feel dirty though.

The motel they were stuffed in was nothing special. It was a little dirty in places but nothing someone who lived in a van for a year can't handle.

**And besides in the mean, mean time**

No. What made her feel dirty was a lot deeper than grime in a shower.

She had told him she wanted to throw up and that wasn't far from the truth but she was legit nauseated from the battle her mind and her heart were raging inside of her. She believed him. She 100% without a doubt believed him when he admitted his feelings, but her brain won out and when Coulson came to rescue her she threw all thoughts of Grant and his feelings into a dark hole in her heart.

_**I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart**_

A burning sensation spread through her arm and she looked down to notice she had scrubbed her skin raw.

No, she wasn't dirty. She was trying to wash off the guilt. The guilt that she walked away from Grant as he tried to explain to her, and the guilt she had for deflating the only bubble of happiness she's felt in a long time.

_**I'm in the de-details with the devil**_

She turned the water off and grabbed a towel to dry off. She dressed in a tshirt and some cotton shorts and threw a hoodie on over top for comfort before walking back into the room that her and Jemma shared. The feeling of her wet hair was soothing as the cold temperature of the room blew a breeze over her head. She let herself fall face first onto the bed and after realizing her air supply as limited rolled over to stare at the ceiling.

Whatever this feeling in the back of her mind was, it needed to go.

A nagging feeling that something wasn't right had settled into her stomach back in Providence when Grant showed up on their doorstep and even as he argued with Mike Peterson in front of her she felt as if something was wrong, that there was something she wasn't seeing.

_**So now the world can never get me on my level**_

She leaned over the side of her bed to reach underneath for her laptop. She opened it up and braided her hair to the side as she waited for the screen to appear.

_**I just gotta get you off the cage **_

A couple clicks here, and a couple clicks there, and she suddenly found herself stumbling upon the old access points for the Bus' camera feed.

_**I'm a young lover's rage**_

She let a smirk appear on her face. Of course she hacked the bus' camera feed? It's what she did. That's their fault for thinking she would leave it alone.

After clicking some more and filtering through files, she was stunned to see that they still worked.

_**Gonna need a spark to ignite**_

A weird thought hit her as she scrolled through the video files to look for the day's date.

_**My songs know what you did in the dark**_

_BINGO!'_

_**So light 'em up, up, up**_

She found the video log that showed her handcuffed to the railing yelling at Ward.

Then she found her rescue.

_**Light 'em up, up, up**_

She watched Coulson walk through the plane slowly when Grant approached him and—

Wait a minute what?

_**Light 'em up, up, up**_

Grant and Coulson. Talking. Calmly?

_**I'm on fire**_

She looked up at the top of the screen to check the date to make sure it hadn't changed. She was shocked to find it hadn't.

_**So light 'em up, up, up**_

Their exchange seemed to end quickly when Grant pointed in a direction and with a hand on Coulson's shoulder he began to push the older man in that direction. Coulson turned around real quick appearing to have called out something to Ward, who then waved a hand in dismissal and took off running in the other direction.

She changed cameras again in order to follow Coulson and five minutes after the two men's exchange, Coulson found her.

_**Light 'em up, up, up**_

She filtered quickly through the different cameras trying to find what happened to Grant only to find him in the cockpit. She watched as he hit a few buttons in order to what it looked like setting auto pilot. She couldn't tell what the other buttons did without getting a better look.

She went through the list of cameras again to find her and Coulson as they were jumping into Lola when she noticed the hanger doors were opening. She rewound it quickly to see when Coulson had hit the panel for the door, to find that at no point in time did Coulson stop to hit any buttons anywhere.

_**Light 'em up, up, up**_

Her eyes snapped to the top of the screen when she saw Grant appear in the corner of the camera, hand leaning on the wall…over top of a—

_**I'm on fire**_

_Holy shit._

No way. This was not real life. She had to have missed something.

She spent the next hour filtering back through the various cameras again following each of them through their time on the bus during her rescue to come up with the same conclusion.

_**In the dark, dark**_

_Coulson didn't lower the hanger…Grant did._

She brought a hand to her forehead and ran her fingers back through the hair that had fallen out of her braid.

_Grant saved us._

_**In the dark, dark**_

She jumped up without a second thought and, computer in hand, made her way to Coulson's room. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind before she came to a stop right in front of the door.

She didn't think this through. Here she was again doing things impulsively not giving it any thought before hand—

"You good?"

She snapped out of her thoughts as she stared at Coulson from her spot outside his door. She noticed her hand was still raised with a fist as if she was about to knock.

"AC…yeah, uh…"

_**All the writers keep writing what they write**_

"Do you want to talk?"

She nodded her head and practically pushed him aside as she made her way through the door to sit on one of the twin beds in the room he and May shared. She kept her eyes settled on the trash can across from her as she heard Coulson shut the door and shuffle over to sit on the other bed facing her.

"AC, I had this crazy thought—I mean, I went back and found my old hacking servers—"

_**Somewhere another pretty vein just dies**_

This was not going well.

"I-I didn't…" She practically through the laptop in front of her on the bed and turned it to him quickly as the video of Grant and Coulson talking played on the screen.

She kept an eye on the older man's expression and was slightly annoyed when it didn't change.

_**I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see**_

She hit the 'next' button and the video of their escape with Lola appeared on the screen and she stopped it just as the image showed Grant at the top.

"AC," She took a deep breath and let it go after she decided to just let it all out; "I need to know what this is."

_**That you're the antidote to everything except for me, me**_.

The nagging feeling in the back of her mind was getting stronger now to the point it was giving her a headache and his silence wasn't helping to ease her mind.

_Something's not right. Something…is…not…RIGHT._

She watched him take a deep breath of air before finally moving his eyes to hers. In an attempt to come across as being ticked off, she pursed her lips and arched an eyebrow in expectation of an answer.

"I don't know what you want me to say Skye."

_**A constellation of tears on your lashes**_

_How about the truth?!_

"Dammit AC, just tell me what the hell I'm looking at!"

He went without answering her yet again and stood up slowly. He brushed the wrinkles out of his suit pants and walked towards the door. After he opened it he looked back at Skye still wearing the stoic expression.

_**Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes**_

"Whatever you're looking for Skye, drop it. Delete those videos. Go _back_ to your room and go to sleep. You shouldn't let your feelings cloud your judgment."

She looked back down to the screen and then back up to Coulson.

_**In the end everything collides**_

"He's undercover..."

It wasn't a question so much as it was a revelation and if she hadn't been staring so intently she would have missed Coulson's eyes widened slightly in fear before he regained the straight expression from before.

_**My childhood spat back out the monster that you see**_

"You're letting your feelings for a guy distort the truth Skye. Grant Ward is an agent of Hydra who was sent to infiltrate this team to gain secrets on who knows what. He is _not_ your friend or ally anymore, so get used to it."

This time instead of holding the door open, he walked out it himself leaving her alone.

_**My songs know what you did in the dark**_

She continued to stare at the door as information processed in her mind. She had no idea who was lying or telling the truth anymore, but she knew one thing for sure.

She was beyond over waiting around to find out.

_**So light 'em up, up, up**_

The trip back to her room took her al around a minute as she practically sprinted down the hall. She skidded to a stop in front of the door and after a couple tries with the key card she calmed herself down enough to slide it in and out carefully resulting in a click the lock.

_I gotta do this quick if I want this to work._

_**Light 'em up, up, up**_

Her computer landed with a soft bounce on the bed when she threw it before she threw open the small closet door in their room to look for her shoulder bag. She walked back over to her laptop to open it up and start running a few programs.

_I'm tired of this 'trust the system' bullshit. I don't trust the system. I hack the system and exploit it._

_**Light 'em up, up, up**_

It felt strangely good to be hacking again, rather, hacking again with the sole intent on screwing something up for someone else. After throwing a couple random items into her bag she plugged her phone into her laptop in order to transfer data. Once finished she unplugged it and threw the chord in her bag along with her phone.

_**I'm on fire**_

A message popped up on the screen. With a satisfying smile on her lips she clicked the 'Run' button on the screen and watched as her pride and joy took over.

It was a program she had developed long before coming to Coulson's team and she had to admit it was one she was proud of. It was designed to knock out any tracking device, cell signal, radio wave, or any kind of technology in general within a certain radius of her laptop.

_**So light 'em up, up, up**_

She cringed at the thought of having to leave her laptop behind in the motel, but she had to keep reminding herself about sacrifices.

She gently placed her laptop on the floor next to the bed and pulled the covers off the bed to hide it but still making it seem as if the bed was just unmade. Taking one last look around the room for anything she might have missed she turned the light off and made her way out and down the corridor towards the parking lot.

_**Light 'em up, up, up**_

After scanning the lot her eyes settled on a pickup truck in the far corner. Trucks like these were far easier to hot wire than the more recent cars and lucky her it was a Toyota, the very first brand of car she learned to hotwire.

_**Light 'em up, up, up**_

She felt the engine roar to life as she peeled out of the parking lot following the path her gps took her. When she plugged her phone into her laptop, she synced the bus' signal with her phone so she was able to access its live camera feeds as well as its location.

_**I'm on fire**_

She knew the smile on her lips hadn't left her face. She should _not _be this happy. She was betraying the team who took her in—_after they obviously lied again_—and she was seriously messing with their hardware. She could hear FitzSimmon's voices in her head right now about how to undo the damage she had done.

_**In the dark, dark**_

Maybe that's why she was so happy? She was back to how she was with the Rising Tide, but somehow, better? She wasn't that ignorant little girl who followed Miles around, but she was a hacker using her knowledge of the system to _save _someone and expose the truth that _really did_ need to be brought out into the light.

_**In the dark, dark**_

_Hydra huh? Out of the shadows and into the light?_

_**My songs know what you did in the dark**_

She let out a scoff as she flipped the radio in the truck on.

_Well now I'm going into the shadows. _

_**My songs know what you did in the dark**_

_You won't know what hit you._

_**So light 'em up**_

* * *

_**AN**_ Oh heck yes! Finally got to use one of the Fall Out Boy songs I've been wanting to use for like ever! So yeah, her fic idea made me draft notes just to make sure I got it right, and then there were like a million different songs that I wanted but each part of her story had a different emotion so I DECIDED to split it up into chapters.

This one won't take long though, so I'll have this and Chapter 1 of part 2 of the I get that A Lot series up tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Maps

AN: Okay, so I have an unhealthy relationship with Maroon 5 and it of course has made it was way over here so yeap here it is (I'm also wearing my maroon 5 jacket while writing this). The second chapter in the story! Look up the song or listen to the video which I'll warn you Is a little….intense….graphic…Idk it's something but oddly enough gives off the appropriate image I wanted. It's also amazing live as I recently got to find out!

This story switches points of view half way through but you'll totally figure it out without me having to point it out too much. Also I own nothing.

watch?v=NmugSMBh_iI

* * *

Her phone allowed her access to the majority of the doors controlled by a central mainframe in the Fridge.

_Gotta love technology_.

She hadn't encountered any hostile situations so far and the guards she did come across were easily hidden from.

Before she left the truck she downloaded a blueprint she hacked from the Fridge allowing her to navigate through the halls and doors without being too much in the dark on her way to the top floors.

_**I miss the taste of a sweeter life**_

She figured Grant would be where all the action was, but with that she knew the probability that Garrett was there too.

She made her way up the stairs she found on the east side of the building and was confused when they stopped. After looking at the map and up to the floor number in front of her she slowly walked through the door and pocketed her phone in favor of the Night Night gun she brought with her, keeping the real pistol in her bag for future situations.

The floor she found herself on was lined with doors and windows as if she was in a hospital and as she crept along the wall to lean in and see what was in one of the rooms she realized they were labs.

She kept going despite her curiosity of what was inside the labs. She couldn't be distracted now, not until she found him.

_**I miss the conversation**_

She found more stairs when she made her way towards what she guessed to be the center of the building and once again made an attempt to get to the upper levels until being stopped for the second time. She took a quick glance at her phone and the map and realized she was almost there, except she needed to keep her guard up. Zooming in on the map she saw that the floor she was now on was full of offices and dorm like rooms where the Fridge agents no doubt ran things from.

It would be crawling with Hydra agents.

She slipped quietly through the door and pressed her back against the wall as she crept down the hallway when she came across a guard who noticed her a lot faster than she wanted.

"Hey! You're not supposed—"A blast to the chest from her gun made interrupted the guard as he passed out.

She released the clip from the emptied cartridge and loaded another into the Night Night gun as she released the breath she'd been holding.

She had two options left to her or she was a sitting duck.

_**I'm searching for a song tonight**_

Option 1: Keep sneaking through the halls and take the guards out one at a time with the _two _guns she brought with her and her limited knowledge of what Grant had taught her. Limited movability, really hard, and longer time frame.

Option 2: Do things her way and hack the mainframe and shut down most of the operations, lights, and anything else she could get her hands on for a brief amount of time to allow her to run through the halls and hopefully find Grant. Small chance of success, small time frame, a lot more fun to do.

_Oh well, Go big or go home right?_

She immediately set to work hacking through their systems and when the lights shut off above her she smiled and turned the flashlight attached to her gun on. She stood up quickly as she heard voices yelling at the end of the hall.

_**I'm changing all of the stations**_

It was now or never.

* * *

He found himself in agent mode as he searched the long stretch of hallways looking for a threat. The other soldiers were saying something about a system overload, like a surge going through the building that cut off most of the power.

_**I like to think that we had it all**_

He didn't buy that for a second.

He gripped his gun tighter rand kept it level with his eyes as he rounded a corner. He was getting closer to the top floor where Garrett was and he knew that if his training kicked in, that meant Garrett was no doubt on high alert as well.

He kept to a corner as he heard some guards talking as they passed by him without noticing.

"Yeah, Barry said his computer looked as if it'd been hacked. He lost all control of it."

_**We drew a map to a better place**_

Grant's eyes widened.

_Hacked?_

They were using the Fridge's computer systems left over by S.H.I.E.L.D. that he knew contained some of the hardest encryptions to code due to the information they stored.

There was only one person he could think of that would be anywhere near this mess and be able to achieve such a thing.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard grunts and gasps followed by two thuds.

_**But on that road I took a fall**_

He brought his gun back up towards his face as he swung around the corner to find a shadowed figure standing over the two bodies, before taking off running in the opposite direction and rounding a curve.

Was that—Were those…Was that the sound of heels clicking as the figure ran down the tiled hall?

His stomach dropped to the floor.

_No, no, no, no, no. I told him to—_

He whipped out his phone and dialed a number as the lights around him flickered back on.

_**Oh baby why did you run away?**_

The ringing stopped and he didn't bother to wait for a greeting.

"Coulson! Tell me she's with you."

The sigh on the other end of the line told him all he needed to know.

_**I was there for you**_

"Look, we had no idea she was gone—"

"How could you not know she was gone! She's one person! One person I told you to keep safe!"

_**In your darkest times**_

His head was throbbing now and he was already practically jogging down the halls the figure had disappeared into.

"She left her computer in the room. It—It's been hacking our equipment and we haven't been able to stop it til just now. "

"Yeah well she's hacking the Fridge apparently too."

_**I was there for you**_

"She's looking for you Grant."

That made him stop.

_**In your darkest night**_

_Fuck._

"I'll get her."

_**But I wonder where were you**_

He threw the phone in his pocket as he took off running down the hall the figure had disappeared down into. Why? Why would she come looking for him after everything he'd done?

_**When I was at my worst**_

He came upon two more guards passed out and found himself wondering briefly how she took them out.

The sound of gunfire brought him back to the task at hand and he skidded around a turn, and with his gun raised, shot the two Hydra guards before they made a sound.

_**Down on my knees**_

Now was not the time to make excuses as to why he looked desperate. He was taking out the threat so he could find her. That's all that mattered.

Her being safe.

_**And you said you had my back**_

He can't let anything happen to her. Not again. He would protect her this time, mission be dammed.

_**So I wonder where were you**_

His speed doubled and he continued taking guards out on the way.

He had to get to her.

_**When all the roads you took came back to me**_

She had come to get him. _Him_. She had to know.

_**So I'm following the map that leads to you**_

His arm swung around to come in contact with a guards neck.

_**The map that leads to you**_

She had to know he was a triple agent.

_**Ain't nothing I can do**_

A guard grabbed him from behind by the neck.

_**The map that leads to you.**_

Which meant she knew that he was telling the truth now.

_**Following, following, following to you**_

He flipped the guard over his shoulder and turned his body in the direction of the last guard.

_**The map that leads to you**_

Which means she knows he cares for her.

_**Ain't nothing I can do**_

His fist connected with the guards face as Grant bent to his knees to avoid the last guards swing.

_**The map that leads to you**_

And that she really cares for him.

_**Following, following, following**_

He swung his leg out to trip the guard and raised back up and fired a shot into the ground.

The corridor opened up into a large room that contained the pipe system of the building where he saw Garrett pointing his finger across the room at somebody yelling. He stumbled quickly behind some boxes and pressed his back to them before craning his head to look around the other side to see who was there.

_**I hear your voice in my sleep at night**_

_Oh no._

_**Hard to resist temptation**_

Sure enough, there was Skye, with what looked like a _real_ pistol drawn and pointed towards Garrett. Her eyes were focused, but he could tell she was scared, and it sent a quiet rage through him.

_**'Cause something strange has come over me**_

He moved behind objects in order to get closer to her as Garrett lectured her on the severity of her situation. He made sure he had a full round I his gun as he raised himself to stand with his back still pressed along some large crates close to Skye.

_**And now I can't get over you**_

"I will _not_ let some _girl_ ruin what has taken 20 years of planning!"

He heard the sound of Garrett bringing out his own gun to point at Skye and he swung out from behind the boxes to reveal himself and point his own gun at his mentor.

_**No, I just can't get over you**_

"Put it down John."

Garrett had a shocked look on his face but quickly laughed it off and shook his head as he turned his gun to point at his protégé.

_**Oh, I was there for you**_

"I should have figured as much. Typical Grant, always weak."

Grant slowly put one foot over the other as he made his way over to Skye.

_**Oh, in your darkest time**_

"Grant, please—"

He ignored her. He couldn't afford to let himself be distracted.

_**Oh, I was there for you**_

"John. It's the end."

The elder man's grin turned cynical and his eyes reflected a crazed look.

_**Oh, in your darkest night**_

"You're right. It _is_ over," He watched in slow motion as Garrett's gun turned towards Skye, "for her anyway."

_**But I wonder where were you**_

He was moving before he realized it and fired a shot before shoving Skye to the ground with his body.

_**When I was at my worst  
Down on my knees**_

His mentor let out a cry of pain as he rolled off of Skye.

_**And you said you had my back**_

"Grant! Hey, Grant!"

_**So I wonder where were you**_

His vision was becoming cloudy and he felt as if someone was sitting on his chest.

_**When all the roads you took came back to me**_

He heard someone whisper a quiet, "Oh no," as he felt as if he was slipping away, followed by two gun shots.

_**So I'm following the map that leads to you**_

Everything was dark.

_**Following, following, following**_

* * *

AN:

BOOM! Yeap. That happened. Super short chapter but it's cool I needed it to be for the next chapter to really have the oomph it needs.

Thanks for reading!

Review!


	3. No One Else Like You

AN: This one's a long one folks and it's only that way because I was not about to break it up into two chapters because it would look ridiculous.

Also, I love this song. It's No One Else Like You from the movie Begin Again, sang by Adam Levine…I bought the soundtrack the day it was released and haven't even seen the movie yet….yeah.

I felt it gave off the feeling of a happy ending lol

ANYWHO

Enjoy!

* * *

It had been _two_ _days_ since the Fridge.

Two days of hearing nothing but the memories of that night and the sound of a steady beeping corresponding to the body lying on the bed in front of her.

The brute force of Grant's body hitting her knocked the wind out of her briefly before she hit the ground landing on top of his body. He had grabbed her waist and somehow turned them so he would take the worst of the fall leaving her sprawled over top of him.

"Grant!" She tried shaking his shoulder, "Hey, Grant!"

_No, this isn't happening._

She didn't come all this way or stir up all this trouble just to have him die on her.

She watched his eye lids move as he attempted to stay awake. She let out a sigh of relief at the knowledge he was alive before a frustrated scream brought her out of her thoughts.

She turned to find Garrett holding his chest underneath his collarbone, where Grant's bullet had lodged itself in the tissue.

"Oh, no."

He was still alive too, and now Grant's out of commission. It was up to her now.

She could almost feel her eyes turn dark as an unknown anger filled her. She picked up the gun Grant had dropped upon impact and aimed it at Garrett.

It took him a second to stand up straight before he let out a weak cackle. "What's this? Little birdie going to finish the job?"

"You know it." She kept the gun level with his head.

"You won't do it." He raised his chin a little higher, "You're weak just like him. He could have killed me, but he purposely botched the shot."

_Don't listen to him. He's lying._

"And now he's left you all alone—defenseless." Her grip tightened on the gun. "Guess he doesn't' care that much for you after all."

"Enough!"

Two shots.

It happened so fast. She remained standing there, arm extended holding the gun. Her chest ached and she took gasping breaths to regain control.

She heard her name being yelled from somewhere close, but couldn't decipher where. The adrenaline was leaving her system and she was becoming increasingly tired.

She collapsed to her knees and Ward's gun went sliding across the floor. She held herself up with her hands as she looked at Grant lying on the floor motionless.

She started to crawl over to him but her arms gave out from under her and her world went dark.

"_Skye!"_

* * *

_**Beep**_

_**Beep**_

_**Beep**_

They were rushed to the hospital, with Skye's injuries being treated fairly quickly and Ward carted off to the operating room as soon as the ambulance screeched to a halt.

She woke up hours later to a concerned FitzSimmons on both sides of her bed. When they realized she was awake they went to fetch Coulson who appeared in her door not five minutes later.

She explained everything and tears rolled down her cheeks as she told him she was sorry for leaving like that. He waved off her apologies and gave one himself for how it happened.

"_I should have told you the truth."_

Not once did they ask her about Garrett and she figures they chalked his bullet holes up to Grant defending her. After she was discharged she stopped by the bus for a quick shower and to grab some things from her bunk before heading back.

Coulson had updated her on Grant's surgery and his current condition making her glad she was unconscious for the duration of the procedure. Her nerves would have been shot…no pun intended.

She had made sure to grab her laptop and a notebook and some paper in case she got bored in the waiting room. As she was making her way back to the hanger where May was waiting, she stopped in front of Grant's bunk. She went inside and walked up to his bed when she noticed a hoodie wadded up into the corner of the bunk as if it had been thrown there.

She picked it up and shook it out before hanging it in front of her to see it better. It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. hoodie she guessed from when he underwent training.

She brought it up to her face and instantly recognized Grant's scent. When she showed up in the SUV wearing the hoodie, May remained silent.

* * *

He wasn't in pain necessarily, more disoriented than anything. His training tells him he had been anaesthetized, and judging by the pain in his abdomen, it was more than likely from a surgery to remove the bullet.

His thoughts swam around him as he remained in a floating like state until he felt some sort of force grounding him and after trying to move away from it he realized something was holding him down.

His subconscious waged war against his body in an attempt to open his eyes, and upon victory a bright light slipped through his eye lids making him curse his decision.

_Fuck that's bright._

He tried to open his eyes again using a different tactic; aka: a much slower one.

Once his world around him came into focus he looked around the room that he now realized was a hospital room.

_**Beep**_

_** Beep**_

_** Beep**_

He tilted his head up above him to find himself hooked to a couple of machines. Instantly annoyed dropped his head back onto the pillow in frustration.

_This_ is why he never went to hospitals.

He tried to bring the hand not connected by the intruding wires to his forehead to rub his eyes only to find it underneath something heavy….and warm?

Turning his attention in the direction of his hand, he found that it his arm was off the bed entirely and disappeared underneath a black cotton looking blanket right before his wrist.

That couldn't be right though. He wiggled his fingers and came in to contact with a different texture. He blinked a couple more times, the drugs making it hard to put real thoughts together, and as his mind cleared he analyzed the culprit again.

It was facing away from him with its brown wavy hair spilling over the back of the chair as it was curled up with its knees filling the chair.

He made out the figures soft breathing and wiggled his fingers again coming into contact with the knee curled up in the chair

He leaned his head up a little to get a better look, although his suspicions of who it was were becoming clearer.

_Skye_

Her head rested against the back of the chair as she held his hand between her own.

He can't help the smile that slowly comes to his face and he moves his thumb over the soft skin of her hands as he relaxes back into the pillows.

He didn't want to assume anything by her showing up at the Fridge or even being there holding his hand since he wasn't exactly sure where in this messed up world they stood. His final thought before fading into sleep again was that if it meant he got to hold her hand, he would take what he could get.

* * *

He woke again a little later to the sound of tapping. He could tell by the cool feel of his hand that she had released the hostage appendage some time ago.

He opened his eyes—slowly, having learned his lesson last time—and turned his head in search of the sound. He found her sitting in the chair she was earlier, however this time her laptop was beside his leg on the bed and she had one foot propped up on the bed with a notebook in her lap that she was furiously scribbling in.

He lifted his hand to the laptop and closed the screen causing her to jump. Another small smile made its way onto his face as he watched her expression turn from one of a ticked hacker to a shocked one.

Her things started flying in all directions as she worked furiously to clear the workspace she made of his bed and when everything was cleared off she rose up to rest a bent leg on the bed beside his hips.

"Hey there."

Her smile made him think it wasn't the drugs that were causing him to see the rainbows behind her, and he reached out to grasp her hand.

"Hey."

He felt the squeeze of her hand around his, "I guess it would be kinda useless to ask you how you're feeling huh?"

He let out a puff of air that served as a laugh in response before he let a serious mood fall over him as his earlier question popped into his mind.

"Skye…what are you doing here?"

He watched as her smile turned into a frown as she looked down at their hands.

"Grant, stop. I saw the security footage from the bus…Coulson told me everything."

He shook his head as a cough bubbled through his chest.

"You shouldn't have been there."

He watched her scoff as she turned her head to look out his room's window.

"And just let you do your triple agent whatever you are thing? _Alone_?"

He stayed quiet.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

He smiled again, dropping the argument.

"I tried to tell you."

It came out of his mouth as a whisper but the tears that sprang forward in her eyes told him she heard him perfectly. "I know, and—I'm…God, I'm sorry I didn't believe you." She paused to run her free hand through her hair and let it drop back down to her lap. "It's just, you know…at the time— there was _so_ _much_ changing and I wasn't sure who was who anymore and…"

She let out a sigh, "I'm just—I'm sorry."

Without thinking Grant tried to move closer to her and when pain ripped through his chest along with a groan Skye put her hand over his on his chest to steady him.

"Usually people who get shot have to stay in bed, or did you forget about my stay in Hotel Simmons?"

His eyes opened quickly as what she said triggered his memory. Before passing out, he heard two gunshots.

"Skye?"

He heard her hum in reply from across the room as she was pouring water out of a pitcher for him.

He waited for her to come back over with two cups of water before he asked her, "I heard two gunshots."

Her face turned from one of confusion to understanding, as she tensed up beside him. She leaned over to put her water on the bedside table and clasped her hands together in her lap. She stared down at them as she answered, "Grant, I—I'm sorry but,"

It was pretty clear. After all, she was the one sitting in front of him, not his old mentor.

She tried explaining again just for it to come out as a choked sob as he sat up slowly to not cause himself further pain. In the midst of her hiccups she grabbed his biceps to help him as he struggled to get up on his own.

The minute he was eye level with her he reached his hands out to cradle her head and in one quick move crushed his lips to hers.

He didn't want her to feel that pain. The pain of taking a life stays with you forever, no matter how bad the person is. The fact that this person used to hold such a prominent place in his life probably didn't help matters either.

He continued to move his lips over hers trying to coax her out of her sadness. He needed to see the fire back in her eyes. It was the only thing leading him from the darkness.

The taste of salty tears made him break away slowly and she tried yet again to explain herself as he wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Grant, I'm so sorry-"

"_No,_I don't care." He stopped wiping her tears and forced her to look him in the eye holding the base of her neck and using his thumbs beneath her ears to steer her attention to him, "You're alright, I'm alright, it's okay. We aren't _ever_ going to talk about it again."

He reached back for the hand she had on his wrist and brought her knuckles to his lips.

"I lost you once over a mission…" he placed a kiss on each knuckle, never once breaking eye contact, " I don't plan on making the mistake again."

With one hand still on her neck he brought her closer to put their foreheads together listening to her breathing trying to regulate itself as she calmed down.

"I'm just glad you know now. I was a little worried you'd hate me forever."

He felt her laugh as she pulled away and wiped at some of her tears.

"Yeah, well, now all we need is to keep from getting shot."

He let out as much a laugh his body would allow as he leaned up and pressed his lips to her forehead, lingering there for a few seconds, before resting his cheek against her head.

He tried to take deep breaths to calm the pain that was radiating from sitting up too long.

She must have felt it since she pulled away and leaned over his shoulder to push a button, bringing the top part of the bed up, for him to rest his back on as he sat up.

His thoughts take over, as he thinks where Garrett's death leaves him in life, and a somber look takes over his features.

She's leaning over him now, with one hand on one side of his hips as her other reaches up to run through his hair.

"What's wrong?"

He let out a sigh. Typical Grant can't let himself be happy for more than five minutes before he has to ruin it with reality.

"There's an issue I have to work out with Fury and Coulson now that my missions technically over."

Before the team was even formed, Fury had made plans for investigating Garrett. Coulson's team merely proved as a distraction for Garrett as he took time to get more forces together, allowing Grant to give him fake information on the GH serum gaining his S.O.'s unwavering trust.

Fury had made Coulson aware half way through his mission when Garrett started snooping around the bus more often. He was to be a triple agent, and if the time came, he would act as if he was betraying the team, in favor of Hydra in order to learn more about Garrett's plans.

However, what Coulson didn't know about was Grant's personal deal with Fury.

The emotional toll the mission was taking on Grant made him start to realize how much of his life he had devoted to these people, giving up everything to receive nothing in return. When he met Skye, he had the foolish hope of maybe finding something to make it worthwhile, his betrayal running that hope into the ground.

He had approached Fury with his concerns, and due to his family history, agreed to the terms that once Grant succeeded with his mission, he was allowed to leave.

He would be able to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. behind and have the opportunity to start over.

It was not a decision made purely out of Grant's personal needs as it was also strategically important on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s part. Once Grant exposed Garrett and Hydra, he'd have a target painted on his back bringing too much attention on those trying to repair the agency.

He took a breath after explaining the whole thing to Skye, who sat on the bed with a blank stare. He was scared she might walk away from him, or call him a coward for wanting to leave.

He watched warily as she stood up and walked around the bed towards her things.

_She's leaving me._

His frown intensified as he looked at the wires coming out of his hands, refusing to watch her walk out of his life after all this.

The notebook she had been scribbling in earlier fell onto his lap and he lifted his questioning gaze with his question of what it was poised on his lips. Without any words she brought her laptop out of her bag and sat on his bed again by his legs. She opened the screen to reveal what she had been looking at when he closed it for her earlier.

The connection clicked instantly in his mind and he found himself at a loss for words.

Her screen had a series of pictures of condos of all different colors and sizes with bright colored 'For Rent' signs hanging off of them and the notebook contained numbers that had some circled in green and others marked out completely.

Although Grant's mind made the connection, he still was apprehensive about assuming anything. This was entirely on her terms; he was just along for the ride.

She seemed to notice his hesitation and placed her laptop on the chair in front of her and folded both of her legs underneath her and rested her elbows on her knees. She reached over the hand not wired up to anything and squeezed slightly before taking a deep breath.

He eyed her carefully as she tried to think of the words to say.

"I already talked to Coulson about it…and, well…" She shrugged her shoulders, "my parents are apparently a whole other shit show and a half and after seeing Hydra's craziness, I just..." She has to stop to take a deep breath from talking so fast. "I just decided that I don't want part of it anymore. I mean when you think about it, I've gone my whole life not knowing who my parents are, now that I know a little bit about them, I don't think me going the rest of my life without meeting them is really going to hurt me much."

He could do nothing but stare at the beautiful woman in front of him. She had grown so much since he threw that bag over her head. Words couldn't describe how proud he was.

He looked up at her again when he heard her continue to speak, "I don't want to go back to the bus, or even S.H.I.E.L.D. really, because the only reason I was even hacking you guys was to find info on my parents and now that I know all the secrets it's not fun anymore."

_Annnnddd there she is._

He was still ridiculously proud of how much she'd grown up, but he was thrilled she was still Skye deep down.

She flipped some of her hair over her shoulder as she let out a laugh, "I mean, let's be real, I had my badge, for _one_ day, before the entire agency came crashing down…That's gotta be a sign."

Grant laughed at her assumption but hated the thought of her talent not going to good use, and it wouldn't be a typical Skye and Ward conversation if he didn't lecture her just a little bit. "You shouldn't quit just because you're bored with it…You're a great asset to S.H.I.E.L.D."

Her smile grew even wider, "Which is why…"she reached into her bag to pull out a different looking badge, "I am now labeled as a consultant. You know, like Tony Stark?"

He rolled his eyes.

She must have caught him in the act as she feigned hurt.

She stood up to put all of her things away and he leaned back as he watched her move around his bed.

"Raina told me things about you Skye."

He watched her head whip in his direction and he cursed himself for his inability to let things die. He didn't expect her to wave off his statement with a flick of the wrist though.

"Grant, we already know I'm weird, we don't need Raina's crazy ass confirming that, who cares."

Reason** #464756565345** why he loved her.

He closed his eyes in content as she continued picking things up around the room mumbling how Fitzsimmons would take the news of her leaving the Bus.

He wasn't ignoring her he was just a lot more focused on how he's going to ask his next question. He doesn't realize she's been talking to him and he snaps his head in her direction as she snaps her fingers in front of his face.

"Sorry, checked out for a second."

He watched her shrug her shoulders as she leaned back into the chair beside his bed that she had dropped down in, propping her feet up beside his nudging his foot with her. "Eh, it's okay. You are kinda in a hospital bed so you know…you _pretty_ _much_ win the sympathy card."

He's beginning to think he would never _stop _smiling. Is this what _real_ love felt like?

If it was, he was in for one heck of a rollercoaster.

He leaned back in his bed as he settled his gaze on her typing away on her computer, clicking various things as she went.

"So," he watched her look up over her computer screen at him, and he put on his best sexy smirk he could muster up in a hospital bed, "are you coming home with me or what?"

She put both hands on her laptop and shut the screen before matching his smile with one of her own.  
"That depends."

Grant's heart sank. Her smile never left her face though, so it couldn't be that bad could it?

He licked his lips nervously, "On What?"

She leans forward as if it's a secret.

"On whether or not this," she used her fingers for air quotes, "_'home'_ you speak of allows dogs or not, because if we are going to try this," she used her fingers again, "_'being normal'_ thing, for once in our life, we're going to do it right and get a _fucking_ dog."

She had to be kidding…

As if the two of them, would _ever_ be normal.

_**Is everything just right **__**  
**__**Don't want you thinking that I'm in a hurry **__**  
**__**I won't stay afraid **__**  
**__**I had this vision that has got me worried **_

He feels the back of his bed lowering as she's saying something about him getting rest. He didn't really hear much of what she said before grabbed her shirt and tugged on it slightly. She stops her fussing, and sits back to give him a small smile.

_**'Cause everyone wants someone **__**  
**__**That's one cliché that's true **__**  
**__**Except you I want no one **__**  
**__**Unless that someone's you**_

He tugged again and she leant over him resulting in her hair forming a curtain over their faces.

_**'Cause everyone wants someone  
That's one cliché that's true  
Except you I want no one**_

He reached up with both of his hands and brushed his fingers past her cheeks and into her hair pushing it away from her face simultaneously before resting on the back of her neck once more, rubbing the place under her ear with his thumb. She hums in delight and closes her eyes, wrapping her own fingers around his forearms as he holds her.

_**Unless that someone's you**_

He lowered her forehead down to his lips slowly, brushing his lips gently over her temples, before moving on to place kisses on her closed eye lids. He brushed his nose with hers as his eye lids fluttered shut before his lips ghosted over hers.

_**It looks like you**_

"I love you."

_**Feels like you**_

Her eyes snapped open and within a split second she had her lips fused to his, not caring about any hospital staff that might see as he opened his mouth when her tongue ran along his bottom lip and his hands slid up her sides and under her shirt.

_**Smiles like you**_

And he knows, even though she didn't say it out loud, that she loves him.

_**I want someone just like you**_

And six months later when he comes home to their new condo in the hills of Tennessee, with a German Shepherd puppy who has a diamond ring attached to his collar, he knows without a doubt… that she'll never leave him.

_**True and through  
Forever blue  
'Cause there's no one else like  
**_

_**I want you in my heart  
I see you in my dreams  
I know I make you mad  
As crazy as it seems  
Just you, yes you **_

_**I need someone just like you **__**  
**__**Love me true **__**  
**__**Forever blue **__**  
**__**'Cause there's no one else **_

AN: Well…if any guy who knows me find his way onto this story….Take notes from that last paragraph. I'll accept nothing less.

Unless it's a trip to Disney.

Disney wins everything.

TOODLES


End file.
